During ILLIT’s debut year, I would never have thought they’d transform their sound into novelty techno, but their 2026 has taken a sharp turn toward the ridiculous and irreverent with music that’s fun but often sounds more like a meme than a song. This continues with new single You’re Under Arrest (체포하겠어), which bolsters its … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
It’s the year of Seventeen sub-units, as the group has been unable to make a full comeback while members serve their mandatory military enlistment. So far, we’ve had DxS (DK & Seungkwan) and V8 (Vernon & The8). Now, it’s time for Jeonghan and Joshua to make their sub-unit debut as JxJ. While the previous two … Continue reading
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
It’s been a long while since we heard from Hwang Minhyun — or any Nu’est member, really. I almost forgot that he was still part of Pledis Entertainment. Today, he’s back with new digital single Our. It’s a nice — if uneventful — return. This is the style of synth-kissed mid-tempo I’d expect from male … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. It always bugs me when a … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. September 2026 Overall Thoughts I don’t usually have great expectations for September in K-pop. It tends … Continue reading
Late last night (US Pacific Time), Seventeen’s Jun released a digital EP in his native Chinese. Unlike J-pop, I don’t have a dedicated place on this blog for C-pop releases, but I wanted to briefly touch on this one because I think the song is quite good. I like Seventeen and its members best when … Continue reading
Repackage Albums are a lost art in K-pop and are more likely to be called “deluxes” if they happen at all. BOYNEXTDOOR are bringing the form back with an expanded edition of their June album Home. I really liked that album’s three promoted tracks but didn’t care much for the b-sides. New title track Animal … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Over the past few months, BTS have released music videos exclusive to Spotify premium. I haven’t covered these on the blog because I don’t have a premium account and many others don’t either, so the music videos remained paywalled. Today, they’ve uploaded the mv for Merry Go Round to YouTube, so this probably deserves a … Continue reading
I’m going to say something that might feel surprising coming from this blog: I much prefer the CORTIS-penned song on &TEAM’s new album to their more melodic, vocal-focused title track. Good Boy carries so many hallmarks that tend to make me wince (autotuned rap, chanted hook, truncated runtime), yet the combination just works here. Part … Continue reading
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Much of K-pop — and especially … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. It always amazes me how a … Continue reading
